The Sufi thinker 'Abd al-Karim al-Jili (d. 1408) is best-known for his treatment of the idea of the Perfect Human, yet his masterpiece, al-Insan al-kamil (The Perfect Human), is in fact a wide-ranging compendium of Sufi metaphysical thought in the Ibn 'Arabian tradition. One of the major topics treated in that work is sacred history, the story of God's revelation of the truth to humanity through His prophets and scriptures. Fitzroy Morrissey provides here the first in-depth study of this important section of al-Jili's major work and the key ideas contained within it. Through a translation and analysis of the key passages on the Qur'an, Torah, Psalms and Gospel, it shows how al-Jili's view of sacred history is conditioned by his Ibn 'Arabian Sufi metaphysics, whereby the phenomenal world is viewed as a manifestation of God, and the prophets and scriptures as special places where the divine attributes appear more completely. It also looks at how this idea influences al-Jili's understanding of the hierarchy of prophets, scriptures and religions. The book argues that, contrary to common assumptions, al-Jili's Sufi metaphysical view of sacred history is in keeping with the common medieval Muslim view of sacred history, whereby the Qur'an is viewed as the best of scriptures, Muhammad as the best of prophets, and Islam as the best religion. The book therefore not only gives an insight into a key text within medieval Sufi thought, but also has ramifications for our understanding of medieval Sufi views on the relationship between Islam and other religions.

Throughout history, the study of sacred texts has focused almost exclusively on the content and meaning of these writings. Such a focus obscures the fact that sacred texts are always embodied in particular material forms-from ancient scrolls to contemporary electronic devices. Using the digital turn as a starting point, this volume highlights material dimensions of the sacred texts of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The essays in this collection investigate how material aspects have shaped the production and use of these texts within and between the traditions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, from antiquity to the present day. Contributors also reflect on the implications of transitions between varied material forms and media cultures. Taken together, the essays suggests that materiality is significant for the academic study of sacred texts, as well as for reflection on developments within and between these religious traditions. This volume offers insightful analysis on key issues related to the materiality of sacred texts in the traditions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, while also highlighting the significance of transitions between various material forms, including the current shift to digital culture.

Two remarkable Iranian world-maps were discovered in 1989 and 1995. Both are made of brass and date from 17th-century Iran. Mecca is at the centre and a highly sophisticated longitude and latitude grid enables the user to determine the direction and distance to Mecca for anywhere in the world between Andalusia and China. Prior to the discovery of these maps it was thought that such cartographic grids were conceived in Europe ca. 1910. This richly-illustrated book presents an overview of the ways in which Muslims over the centuries have determined the sacred direction towards Mecca (qibla) and then describes the two world-maps in detail. The author shows that the geographical data derives from a 15th-century Central Asian source and that the mathematics underlying the grid was developed in 9th-century Baghdad.

In this exhaustive survey of the institution of al-kharaj -- land tax in Islam -- Ghaida Khazna Katbi provides a comprehensive and minutely detailed history of a practice which evolved from an exigency of conquest into an essential pillar of the early Islamic state. At the time of the Muslim conquests, al-kharaj constituted a tax on lands owned by non-Muslims. It gradually developed into an instrument of state under Umar bin al-Khattab and reached its most refined and complex form under the Abbasids. Katbi provides a thoroughly documented statistical analysis of the historical materials for each region of the early Islamic world, in the process examining the Byzantine and Sasanian models which the Arab administrators consulted and in some instances adopted. She reveals unprecedented source material including never-before published correspondence from Umayyad functionaries as well as other documents from the Caliphate, Umayyad and Abbasid periods. This book is a unique research tool analyzing Arab primary sources and using Western academic methodologies -- the definitive work on its subject.

This survey of Islamic law combines Western and Islamic views and describes the relationship between the original theories of Islamic law and the views of contemporary Islamic writers. Covering the key topics in the area, including the history, sources and formation of Islamic law, the legal mechanisms, and the contemporary context, it is strong in its coverage of the modern perspective, which distinguishes this book from other texts in the field. The aim is to provide the student with a basic understanding of Islamic law and access to the complexity of the Islamic legal system. The language used is non-technical and understanding is aided with a supplementary detailed glossary and analytical indices.

This is a general survey of the rise and development of Islamic mysticism (Sufism) up to the modern period, which takes into account the latest achievements of scholarship on the subject. Sufism is examined from a variety of perspectives: as a vibrant social institution, a specific form of artistic expression, an ascetic and contemplative practice, and a distinctive intellectual tradition. Islamic Mysticism by Knysh is a comprehensive survey of the interesting and fascinating world of Islamic Mysticism.

Shireen Hunter provides a pragmatic analysis of relations between Islam and the West, marked by specific cases from the contemporary Islamic/Western divide. Her book gives a realistic and accurate assessment of the relative role of civilizational factors in determining the nature of the state and the prospects for Muslim-Western relations (i.e., whether they will be conflictual or cooperative). Hunter answers the question: Can an accommodation between Islam and the West take place in a gradual and evolutionary manner or will it happen only after conflict and confrontation? And, contrary to Huntington's vaunted thesis in "The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order" (Simon & Schuster, 1996), she finds that the reality of modern Islam offers room for hope.

Hunter challenges many of the prevailing Western views of the Muslim world. For example, despite the widespread belief on the specificity of Islam because of an assumed fusion of politics and religion, in reality the fusion--of the spiritual and the temporal--has not been greater in Islam than in other religions. Therefore, Hunter asserts, the slower pace of secularization in Muslim countries can not be attributed to IslaM's specificity. This is a major study that will be of interest to concerned citizens as well as scholars and students of the Middle East and Islam.

This accessible study is the first critical investigation of the cult of saints among Muslims and Jews in medieval Syria and the Near East. Josef Meri's critical reading of a wide range of contemporary sources reveals a vibrant religious culture in which the veneration of saints and pilgrimage to tombs and shrines were fundamental.

This study, done within the comprehensive Weberian framework, focuses on religion and social change in Bangladesh through an imaginative use of qualitative as well as quantitative methods of modern social research. It first provides a sociological interpretation of the origin and development of Islam in Bengal using historical and literary works on Bengal. The main contribution is based on two sample surveys conducted by Mrs. Banu in 20 villages of Bangladesh and in three areas in the metropolitan Dhaka city. Using these survey data, she gives a sociological analysis of Islamic religious beliefs and practices in contemporary Bangladesh, and more importantly, she studies the impact of the Islamic religious beliefs on the socio- economic development and political culture in present-day Bangladesh. She also shows how Islam compares with modern education in social 'transforming capacity'. This careful and rigorous work is a notable contribution to sociology of religion and helps to deepen our understanding of the interactions between religious and social changes common to many parts of the Third World.

The Catalogue of the Arabic, Persian and Turkish Manuscripts in Belgium is a union catalogue aiming is to present the Oriental manuscripts held by various Belgian public institutions (Royal Library, university and public libraries). These collections and their contents are largely unknown to scholars due to the lack of published catalogues. This first volume, consisting of a bi-lingual (English and Arabic) handlist, concerns the collection of the Universite de Liege, which holds the largest number of Oriental manuscripts (c. 500). Each title is briefly described, identifying the author and offering basic material information. Most of the manuscripts described in this handlist originate from North Africa.

A collection of essays by leading scholars from the perspective of each faith addressing key issues which both divide and unite Jews, Christians and Muslims. The world today is only too painfully aware of the tension, suspicion and at times outright hostility that exists among followers of the three great monotheistic religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. In Abraham's Children distinguished scholars from all three faiths examine the key issues which either unite or divide Jews, Christians and Muslims today and offer constructive suggestions for developing mutual understanding, trust and co-operation. The book is divided into two parts. Part One, Foundations of Faith, explores the significance of Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad. Part Two, Resources for the Modern World, deals with such diverse topics as the image of God in humanity, religion and pluralism, gender, the environment and life after death. Each section is followed by a chapter identifying areas of common ground, as well as continuing differences and questions needing further exploration. The Oxford Abrahamic Group has been meeting for more than ten years. whom are highly conscious that monotheism itself is under question in the modern world. The book demonstrates that faith cannot be shared more widely without an acute awareness of the questions the world poses.

STUDIES IN ISLAMIC MYSTICISM BY REYNOLD ALLEYNE NICHOLSON LITT. D., LL. D. LECTURER IN PERSIAN IN THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE FORMERLY FELLOW OF TRINITY COLLEGE CAMBRIDGE AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS I 92 I TO EDWARD GRANVILLE BROWNE WHOSE TEACHING AND EXAMPLE FIRST INSPIRED ME TO PURSUE THE STUDY OF ORIENTAL LITERATURE PREFACE As was explained . in the preface to my Studies in Islamic Poetry, the following essays conclude a series of five, which fall into two groups and are therefore published in separate volumes. While mysticism, save for a few casual references, found no place in the studies on the Lubdbu l-Albdb of Awff and the Luzumiyydt of Abu VA1 al-Maarrf, in these now brought together it has taken entire possession of the field. Ibnu l-Frid, indeed, is an exquisite poet and the picture of Abii Safd ibn Abi 1-Khayr, drawn by pious faith and coloured with legendary romance, may be looked upon as a work of art in its way. But on the whole the literary interest of the present volume is subordinate to the religious and philosophical. I have tried to make the reader acquainted with three iifis famous in the East and worthy of being known in Europe. Most of what has hitherto been written concerning Abii Safd begins and ends with the quatrains passing as his, though for the chief part, at any rate they were neither composed nor recited by him. As to Jflf, the masterly sketch in Dr Muhammad Iqbdls Development of Metaphysics in Persia stands almost alone. Ibuu l-F ri J. had the misfortune to be translated by Von Hammer, and the first intelligent or intelligible version of his great Tdiyya appeared in Italy four years ago. It will be seen that the subjects chosen illustrate different aspectsof tifism and exhibit racial contrasts, of which perhaps the importance has not yet been sufficiently recognised. Abii Safd, the free-thinking free-living dervish, is a Persian through and through, while Ibnu l-Fdri4 in the form of his poetry as well as in the individuality of his spiritual enthusiasm display the narrower and tenser genius of the Semite. Nearly a v third of this volume is concerned with a type of iifism, which- vi Preface as represented by Ibnu l- Arabf and Jfli possesses great interest for students of medieval thought and may even claim a certain significance in relation to modern philosophical and theological problems. Mysticism is such a vital element in Islam that without some understanding of its ideas and of the forms which they assume we should seek in vain to penetrate below the surface of Mohammedan religious life. The forms may be fantastic and the ideas difficult to grasp nevertheless we shall do well to follow them, for in their company East and West often meet and feel themselves akin. I regret that I have not been able to make full use of several books and articles published during the final stages of the war or soon afterwards, which only came into my hands when these studies were already in the press. Tor Andraes Die person Muhammeds in lehre und glauben seiner gemeinde Upsala, 1917 contains by far the best survey that has yet appeared of the sources, historical evolution and general characteristics of the Mohammedan Logos doctrine. This, as I have said, is the real subject of the Insdnu l-Kdmtt. Its roots lie, of course, in Hellenism. Andrae shows how the notion of the ffeio avQg rros passed over into Islam through the Shiites and became embodied in theImdm, regarded as the living representative of God and as a semi-divine person ality on whom the world depends for its existence. Many Shiites were in close touch with iifism, and there can be no doubt that, as Ibn Khaldiin observed, the Shf ite Imdm is the prototype of the iifistic Qutb. It was inevitable that the attributes of the Imm and Qutb should be transferred to the Prophet, so that even amongst orthodox Moslems the belief in his pre-existence rapidly gained ground...

The Kharijites were the first sectarian movement in Islamic history, a rebellious splinter group that separated itself from mainstream Muslim society and set about creating, through violence, an ideal community of the saved. Their influence in the political and theological life of the nascent faith has ensured their place in both critical and religious accounts of early Islamic history. Based on the image of sect fostered by the Islamic tradition, the name Kharijite defines a Muslim as an overly-pious zealot whose ideas and actions lie beyond the pale of normative Islam.
After a brief look at Kharijite origins and the traditional image of these early rebels, this book focuses on references to the Kharijites in Egypt from the 1950s to the 1990s. Jeffrey T. Kenney shows how the traditional image of the Kharijites was reawakened to address the problem of radical Islamist opposition movements. The Kharijites came to play a central role in the rhetoric of both religious authorities, whose official role it is to interpret Islam for the masses, and the secular state, which cynically turns to Islamic ideas and symbols to defend its legitimacy. Even those Islamists who defend militant tactics, and who are themselves tainted by the Kharijite label, become participants in the discourse surrounding Kharijism. Although all Egyptians agree that modern Kharijites represent a dangerous threat to society, serious debates have arisen about the underlying social, political and economic problems that lead Muslims down this destructive path. Kenney examines these debates and what they reveal about Egyptian attitudes toward Islamist violence and its impact on their nation.
Long before 9/11, Egyptianshave been dealing with the problem of Islamist violence, frequently evoking the Kharijites. This book represents an important contribution to Islamic studies and Middle East studies, adding to our understanding of how the Islamic past shapes the present discourse surrounding Islamist violence in one Muslim society.

Christopher Melchert proposes to historicize Islamic renunciant piety (zuhd). As the conquest period wound down in the early eighth century c.e., renunciants set out to maintain the contempt of worldly comfort and loyalty to a greater cause that had characterized the community of Muslims in the seventh century. Instead of reckless endangerment on the battlefield, they cultivated intense fear of the Last Judgement to come. They spent nights weeping, reciting the Qur'an, and performing supererogatory ritual prayers. They stressed other-worldliness to the extent of minimizing good works in this world. Then the decline of tribute from the conquered peoples and conversion to Islam made it increasingly unfeasible for most Muslims to keep up any such regime. Professional differentiation also provoked increasing criticism of austerity. Finally, in the later ninth century, a form of Sufism emerged that would accommodate those willing and able to spend most of their time on religious devotions, those willing and able to spend their time on other religious pursuits such as law and hadith, and those unwilling or unable to do either.

Freethinkers of Medieval Islam focuses on the express denial of prophecy in the medieval Islamicate world. The development of Islamic freethinking is analyzed against the background of the significance of prophets in Islam. In her book, Sarah Stroumsa examines the image of freethinkers, and the repercussions of freethinking on Muslim, Jewish and Christian medieval thought. She argue that freethinking, as exemplified by figures like Ibn al-Rawandi (9th C.) and Abu Bakr al-Razi (10th C.), was a pivotal phenomenon, that had a major impact on the development of Islamic thought. In the present context of religious violence carried out in the name of Islam, this book highlights the striking existence of independent freethinking in the world of Islam.

Wealth inequality has been not only rising at unsustainable pace but also dissociated from income inequality because of the fact that wealth is increasing without concomitant increase in savings and productive capital. Compelling evidence indicates that capital gains and other economic rents are mainly responsible for wealth inequality and its divergence from income inequality. The main argument of the book is that interest-based debt contracts are one of the drivers of wealth inequality through creating disproportional economic rents for the asset-rich. The book also introduces the idea of risk-sharing asset-based redistribution, which is a novel and viable policy proposal, as an effective redistribution tool to address the wealth inequality problem. Furthermore, a large-scale stock-flow consistent macroeconomic model, which is step by step constructed in the book, sheds light on the formation of wealth inequality in a debt-based economy and on the prospective benefits of implementing risk-sharing asset-based redistribution policy tools compared to traditional redistribution policy options. The research presented in this book is novel in many respects and first of its kind in the Islamic economics and finance literature.

Dom R.H. Connolly provides an English translation and study of four liturgical homilies by Narsai.

As Abu 'Abd Allah al-Husayn, son of 'Ali and Fatima and grandson of Muhammad, moved inexorably towards death on the field of Karbala', his sister Zaynab was drawn ever closer to the centre of the family of Muhammad, the 'people of the house' (ahl al-bayt). There she would remain for a few historic days, challenging the wickedness of the Islamic leadership, defending the actions of her brother, initiating the commemorative rituals, protecting and nurturing the new Imam, al-Husayn's son 'Ali b. al-Husayn b. 'Ali b. Abi Talib, until he could take his rightful place. This is her story.